LEARNING TOOLS FOR EURO
THEMATIC ESSAY QUESTIONS
THEMATIC ESSAYS FOR MILITARY HISTORY
1. The peoples of Europe, convinced that their nations causes were just, entered World War I in August
of 1914
enthusiastically, in the belief that victory would be theirs by Christmas. What went wrong? Why did they,
civilian and military alike, have such a mistaken concept of the nature of modern warfare? What changes
had
taken place in previous decades to so dramatically alter the nature of warfare?
2. The nature and motivation for warfare in Europe has altered many times during the modern era.
Describe,
compare and analyze the motivation for the Wars of Louis XIV and Napoleon.
3. “The Crimean War, 1852-1856, was one of the silliest wars ever fought; yet its consequences were
extraordinarily important for Russia and for Europe as a whole…”
----William H. McNeill, A History of the World Community
Discuss the origins of this “silly war” and, having done so, indicate the “extraordinarily important”
consequences of it on Russia and Europe.
4. Discuss the major trends in European warfare from 1648 to 1763. Consider recruiting, training,
funding,
weaponry, tactics and implications for national economics and foreign policy. Use specific examples from
France, Prussia, Russia or other nations.
5. How would European history be different if instead of propping up the Ottoman Empire and partitioning
Poland in 1772, Austria and Russia had instead gone to war over the Balkans?
6. Discuss changes in military practices from 1453-1648 and relate them to changes in politics and
economics.
THEMATIC ESSAYS FOR EUROPEAN DEMOGRAPHICS AND SOCIAL HISTORY
1. Describe and analyze the economic, cultural and social changes that led to and sustained Europe's
rapid
population growth in the period from approximately 1650-1800.
2. Describe and assess the importance of primogeniture in creating a distinctive social structure in Great
Britain as
compared to continental European nations such as France.
3. Analyze how and why Western European attitudes toward children and child rearing changed in the
period
1750-1900.
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THEMATIC ESSAY QUESTIONS FOR RENAISSANCE
1. Compare and contrast the Renaissance in Italy and in northern Europe.
2. Why did the Renaissance start in Italy?
3. To what extent was the Renaissance a secular movement?
4. Explain the Renaissance as an urban phenomenon?
5. Describe the ideal Renaissance individual: choose from Leon Batista Alberti, Isabella d'Este, Lorenzo
de Medici
or Leonardo da Vinci.
6. Describe changes in painting, poetry, architecture and sculpture that arose during the Renaissance.
How did these
cultural achievements reflect the values of Renaissance society?
7. Describe the position of women during the Renaissance?
8. To what extent is the term "Renaissance" a valid concept for a distinct period in modern European
history?
9. Explain the ways in which the Italian Renaissance humanism transformed ideas about the individual's
role in
society.
10. "The secular humanism of the Italian Renaissance reflected the modern world while the Christian
humanism of
the Northern Renaissance compromised between medievalism and modernity. “Defend or refute this
statement.
11. To what extent and in what ways did the Italian Renaissance result from Italy's geographical
advantage in the
world trade of the 15th century?
12. "Although the term "Renaissance" is misleading, the modern world began with Renaissance
secularism and
individualism." Assess the validity of this statement.
13. Explain why Machiavelli's T he Prince is both one of the most misinterpreted books of modern times
and the
first modern treatise in political science.
14. Analyze how the Northern Renaissance gave rise to two diverse trends: religious mysticism and
science and
technology.
15. Discuss how Renaissance ideas are expressed in the Italian art of the period, referring to specific
works and
artists.
16. How was the experience of upper class women in the Renaissance different from the experience of
upper class
men?
17. Analyze the influence of humanism on the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance. Use at least three
specific
works to support your analysis.
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THEMATIC ESSAY QUESTIONS FOR REFORMATION
1. How did Catholic authorities respond to the challenge of Protestantism?
* 2. Compare and contrast the religious and political beliefs Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, the Anglican Church
and the
RCC.
3. To what extent were Luther's 95 Theses a political as well as a dogmatic protest against the Roman
Catholic
Church?
4. What caused the spread of Lutheranism throughout the German states among the nobility and the
common
people?
5. Why did Protestantism fail to spread to the French nobility the way it did in the German states?
6. Was the Reformation in England more of a political or dogmatic reformation?
7. What impact did the spread of Protestantism have upon the political balance of power in Europe from
15201603?
8. What were the political implications of Reformation ideas and actions?
9. Why did the Irish resist Protestantism and Anglicanism?
10. To what extent could the Reformation be viewed as a further progression in the rise of an educated
middle class?
11. The Reformation and the Scientific Revolution were contemporary events in Europe. Discuss the
relationship
between these two events in the following aspects: a) their common origins b) their influence on
economic
developments c) their creation of political tensions.
12. "The Protestant Reformation was primarily an economic event." By describing and determining the
relative
importance of the economic, political and religious causes of the Reformation, defend or refute this
statement.
13. How did the disintegration of the medieval church and coming of the Reformation contribute to the
development of nation-states in Western Europe between 1450 and 1648?
14. "Luther was both a revolutionary and a conservative."
Discuss this statement with respect to Luther's responses to the political and social questions of his day.
15. What were the responses of the Catholic authorities in the sixteenth century to the challenges posed
by the
Lutheran Reformation?
16. Compare and contrast the attitudes of Martin Luther and John Calvin toward political authority and
social order.
17. "The Reformation was a rejection of the secular spirit of the Italian Renaissance."
Defend or refute this statement using specific examples from 16th c. Europe.
18. Describe and analyze the ways in which 16th c. Roman Catholics defended their faith against the
Protestant
Reformation.
19. Evaluate the relative importance of the religious rivalries and dynastic ambitions that shaped the
course of the
Thirty Years War.
20. Assess the extent to which the Protestant Reformation promoted new expectations about social roles
in the
sixteenth century. Refer to at least two social groups in your assessment.
21. "Luther began the Reformation as a religious reformer and ended it as a religious revolutionary."
Assess the
validity of this statement.
22. Calvin's doctrines were a radical departure from those of both the Roman Catholic Church and
Lutheranism."
Evaluate this statement.
23. "The reformation was caused by long-term political, social and economic developments." Discuss this
statement.
24. "The Catholic Counter Reformation attempted not only to reform the Church but to suppress heresy."
Defend or
refute this statement.
25. "The Protestant emphasis on one's personal relationship with God was a logical outgrowth of the
Renaissance."
Assess the validity of this statement.
26. "Protestant spread with the growth of nationalism." Discuss this statement.
27. Compare and contrast the Lutheran Reformation and the Catholic Reformation of the 16th century
regarding the
reform of both religious doctrines and religious practices.
28. The reformation inaugurated by Martin Luther was primarily a religious protest. At the same time it
unleashed
or soon gave rise to a number of other diverse protests and calls for change in areas which, while related
to social,
political and economic issues rather than spiritual matters, were advanced by religious groups. Discuss,
giving
specific examples of the various protests or calls for change.
29. Describe and analyze the impact of the Counter-Reformation on European history.
30. Discuss the political and social consequences of the Protestant Reformation in the first half of the
sixteenth
century.
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THEMATIC ESSAY QUESTIONS FOR AGE OF DISCOVERY/COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION
1. What factors in European society gave rise to the Age of Exploration?
2. Discuss: The Age of Exploration was both the cause and the effect of the rise of the European middle
class.
3. Discuss the reasons and political factors that caused England and France to delay in joining the
exploration of
new territory.
4. In what ways was the Age of Exploration an extension of the Renaissance?
5. What relationship, if any, exists between the Age of Exploration and the Crusades?
6. How were the Ottoman Empire and the Italian city-states a cause of the Age of Exploration?
7. Discuss the political and economic reasons for the decline of Spain between 1492-1648.
8. In the seventeenth century how did England and the Dutch Republic compete successfully with France
and Spain
for control of overseas territory and trade?
9. Explain how economic, technological, political and religious factors promoted European explorations
from about
1450 to about 1525.
10. Why were Portugal and Spain the first nations to create empires over seas?
11. In the 17th c. how did England and the Dutch Republic compete successfully with France and Spain
for control
of overseas territory and trade?
12. Analyze changes in the European economy from about 1450 to 1700 brought about by the voyages of
exploration and by colonization. Give specific examples.
13. Analyze the way the opening of the Atlantic sparked the rise of capitalism.
14. Focusing on the period before 1600 describe and analyze the cultural and economic interactions
between Europe
and the Western Hemisphere as a result of the Spanish and Portuguese exploration and settlement.
15. At the outset of the Age of Exploration and Discovery it was the nations of the Iberian Peninsula Portugal
and Spain - that led the way. Why? What particular circumstances, advantages, motives favored these
states
taking the lead?
16. Describe and analyze how overseas expansion by European states affected global trade and
international
relations from 1600-1715.
17. Explain how advances in learning and technology influenced fifteenth and six teent h century
European
exploration and trade.
THEMATIC ESSAY QUESTIONS FOR RISE OF NATION STATES
1. To what extent was the Glorious Revolution a "bourgeois" revolution?
2. Discuss the role of religion in the Thirty Years War. Was religious belief the cause or merely the rallying
point
for underlying political disputes?
3. What effects did the Thirty Years War have on the balance of power in Europe socially, politically and
economically?
4. Compare and contrast the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) with the Peace of Augsburg (1555). Discuss its
effects
upon the middle class and also upon the status of the Hapsburg Empire.
5. What effect, if any, did the Thirty Years War have upon the future reunification of Germany? Explain
and
discuss.
6. To what extent could the overthrow of the Stuart Monarchy be considered a triumph of the Middle class
in
England?
7. Discuss the role of religion in the downfall of the Stuarts. Was it the immediate cause or merely an
overt
symptom of deeper conflicts?
8. Did the Cromwellian revolution and subsequent Glorious Revolution result in greater democratization of
English
society?
9. To what extent were the Wars of Religion in France the result of an already ineffective and
decentralized
monarchy? What was the actual role played by religious differences within French society?
10. Compare and contrast the handling of religious conflicts between the Stuart monarchs of England and
the
French monarchy under Louis XIII and Louis XIV? To what do you attribute these differences in policy
and what
were the ultimate effects of each upon their societies?
11. What effects did the Thirty Years War have upon the reign of Louis XIV and his advisor Mazarin?
What effect
did the decisions made by this administration have upon the future of the French state?
12. What steps did Louis XIV take to create a more efficient and centralized state? In what ways did he
succeed both increasing the authority of the crown and also in assuring its eventual overthrow in the
French
Revolution?
13. How did the disintegration of the medieval church and the coming of the Reformation contribute to the
development of nation-states in Western Europe between 1450-1648?
14. Evaluate the relative importance of the religious rivalries and dynastic ambitions that shaped the
course of the
Thirty Years War.
15. Discuss the "New Monarchy" of the 16th Century in England, France or Spain.
16. "In 17th c. England the aristocracy lost its privileges but retained its power; in 17th c. France the
aristocracy retained it privileges but lost its power." Assess the accuracy of this statement with respect to
political events and social development in the two countries in the 17th c.
17. Analyze the ways in which both the theory and the practice of monarchy evolved in England from
1603 (the death of Elizabeth I) to 1688-1689 (the Glorious Revolution.)
18. In 1519 Charles of Hapsburg became Charles V, the HRE. Discuss and analyze the political, social
and religious problems he faced over the course of his imperial reign (1519-1556.)
19. In 1490 there was no such country as Spain, yet, within a century it had become the most powerful
nation in
Europe and within another had sunk to the status of a third-rate power. Describe and analyze the major
social, economic and political reasons for Spain's downfall.
20. Describe and analyze the changes in the role of Parliament in English politics between the succession
of James I and the Glorious Revolution.
21. Evaluate the reign of "The Sun King."
22. Contrast and compare the development of the nation-state in France and in England from the early
16th to the end of the 17th centuries.
23. Analyze the development of absolutism in France.
24. To what extent and in what ways did the Puritan Revolution contribute to the supremacy of Parliament
in 1689?
25. How absolute was the absolutism of Louis XIV?
26. "The Tudors brought England into the modern world." Assess the validity of this statement.
27. Explain how the Glorious Revolution of 1688 established constitutional government in England.
28. In what ways were France's social, political and economic problems between 1562-1589 similar to
those of the
Holy Roman Empire and how did the French solve them?
29. The nature and motivation for warfare in Europe has altered many times during the modern Era.
Describe,
compare and analyze the motivation for the Wars of Louis XIV and Napoleon
30. The Stuarts have been held at least partially accountable for the decline of monarchical power in
Great Britain.
Describe and analyze the justification for such a position.
31. Assess and analyze the extent to which the English Civil War and Glorious Revolution of 1688
advanced the
cause of constitutionalism in England in the 17th century.
32. Compare and contrast the religious and economic policies of the early Stuart monarchs, the
Commonwealth
under Oliver Cromwell and the Restoration Stuarts.
34. “Leadership determines the fate of a country.” Evaluate this quotation in terms of Spain’s
experiences under
Philip II.
35. Compare and contrast the religious policies of TWO of the following: Elizabeth I of England,
Catherine de Medicis of France, Isabella of Spain.
36. Louis XIV declared his goal was “one king, one law, one faith.” Analyze the methods the king used to
achieve
this objective and discuss the extent to which he was successful.